Florida State University’s new president is implementing formidable methods to take the fast-rising, Top 20 public college even greater.
Florida State University President Richard McCullough arrived on campus in August 2021 with a daring imaginative and prescient of main one of many prime public universities within the nation to even higher heights.
An tutorial chief, innovator and entrepreneur, McCullough got here to FSU after a decade as Harvard University’s vice provost for analysis and professor of supplies science.
Inspired by FSU’s fast rise within the nationwide tutorial rankings, dedication to scholar success, and function as an engine of financial alternative and social mobility, McCullough is constructing on the college’s momentum by tapping into its aggressive spirit.
McCullough, who lately accomplished his first tutorial 12 months because the college’s sixteenth president, is setting formidable objectives for Florida State.
“This is a university on the rise. While we are proud to be a Top 20 public university, I am confident that we can move even higher in the national rankings based on the quality of our academic programs, faculty and students.”
— Florida State University President Richard McCullough
“I knew Florida State was a special place from the moment I stepped on campus. This is a university on the rise,” McCullough stated. “While we are proud to be a Top 20 public university, I am confident that we can move even higher in the national rankings based on the quality of our academic programs, faculty and students.”
Investing in Students
FSU’s strategic investments in scholar success have fueled its fast ascent within the U.S. News & World Report rankings — a strategic climb from No. 43 to No. 19 among the many nation’s public universities over the previous six years.
At the identical time, FSU has seen rising retention and commencement charges. The college’s 95 % freshman retention charge is a faculty file, and FSU’s four-year commencement charge of 74 % is the most effective in Florida and one of many highest within the nation.
Remarkably, Florida State achieved this record-high commencement charge whereas practically eliminating disparities throughout race, ethnicity and earnings stage in an undergraduate inhabitants the place about 26 % of scholars are the primary of their households to go to school and practically 20 % of scholars started their greater schooling at a group school.
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) acknowledged Florida State for its efforts to help all college students in incomes their levels with the 2021 Degree Completion Award — the highest scholar success award within the nation.
“Student success is at the heart of Florida State University’s mission, and addressing equity gaps is one of our top priorities, so it is especially meaningful to be recognized by the APLU with the Degree Completion Award,” McCullough stated. “Public universities are amazing engines of social and economic mobility, and that’s why our faculty and staff have worked so hard to achieve one of the top graduation rates in the country.”
The college’s core mission of supporting college students resonates with McCullough, who was a first-generation scholar and labored his approach by way of faculty, beginning at group school.
“I didn’t have the financial and social support that Florida State offers students to ensure they succeed, so I’m especially committed to enhancing these programs,” McCullough stated. “FSU students can achieve their dreams of a degree, no matter their background.”
Driving Innovation
McCullough — a scientist, inventor and private-sector CEO — additionally aspires to develop Florida State’s analysis and growth enterprise. To achieve this, the college is broadening its efforts to draw analysis funding and is hiring practically 170 new, full-time, tenure-track school members.
“One of my major goals is to build initiatives at this university by developing the infrastructure needed to attract more research dollars,” he stated.
McCullough stated there’s a enormous alternative to extend the college’s help from the National Institutes of Health, and FSU will concentrate on growing capability in life sciences, medical analysis and well being information sciences.
One thrilling instance of that is the brand new FSU Health initiative, a partnership with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, which has the potential to remodel well being care supply, schooling, and biomedical analysis within the area. FSU is also collaborating with the Mayo Clinic to domesticate a various and sturdy expertise pipeline in Florida and past by creating hands-on alternatives for college students to sharpen their abilities in information science, biostatistics and biomedical analysis.
McCullough additionally goals to create alternatives for school and college students to convey their analysis to {the marketplace}. That means growing the variety of university-based startups and deliberately translating FSU analysis output, thereby driving innovation and financial progress.
During his Investiture in February — an occasion that included main speeches by tutorial leaders from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon — McCullough stated he got here to Florida State University as a result of he believes it is among the nation’s greatest public analysis universities, and he aspires to lift the bar even greater.
“Now our challenge — and our responsibility — is to become even greater.”